Satya Nadella, Year One: Has Microsoft's new CEO cut the mustard?

5. Universal Windows apps

With Windows 10, Nadella says, the same apps will run on any device running a Microsoft OS, be it a desktop, a laptop, a tablet, or a smartphone – only he doesn't really mean it. All of this talk about "universal apps" sounds good, but it only applies if developers build their software using a limited set of modern tools. While Microsoft's touch-friendly Office apps for Windows 10 will be universal apps, for example, that's just a lightweight version of the suite. The real deal will be Office 2016, and it will still be designed to work primarily with a keyboard and mouse.

What's more, the groundwork for the universal app concept was already laid when Redmond introduced the Windows Runtime in 2012. At the time, Nadella himself called it "revolution through evolution" – and it's still evolving, not being built from scratch.

4. "Cloudobile"

One area where Nadella's influence has been felt is Microsoft's increased emphasis on the cloud and mobility. Sure, Ballmer was essentially tooting the same whistle when he talked about "devices and services." But Microsoft has invested heavily in its Azure cloud under Nadella's tenure, to the point that it's now the only serious contender to the mighty Amazon Web Services.

Nadella also seems to be cannier than Ballmer when it comes to the realities of what's needed to succeed in the cloud. You probably never would have heard Ballmer say "Microsoft loves Linux," as Nadella did in October. And Redmond's sweaty former chief exec probably wouldn't be as quick to team up with Docker to introduce Linux-compatible application container technologies in Windows Server.

Both were shrewd moves. It's just a shame that neither the cloud nor mobility is where Microsoft makes its real money.

3. HoloLens

Nadella hasn't let us forget that Microsoft fancies itself a hardware vendor, and in January the firm surprised most everybody with the reveal of HoloLens, a sci-fi headset that can overlay 3D rendered objects on the wearer's vision, while still allowing a partial view of the real world.

A project as ambitious as this one surely took longer than a year to develop, so we can't credit Nadella for greenlighting it. But he can take credit – or the blame – for not pulling the plug, though, particularly when earlier the same month Google announced that it was shutting down its controversial Glass Explorer program and going back to the drawing board. No doubt the support of NASA had something to do with it.

Still, it will be awhile before HoloLens reaches store shelves, so this announcement, while intriguing, is largely a symbolic feather in Nadella's cap for now.

2. Buying Mojang

We're not sure, but this one could be all Nadella. Even though Ballmer – Microsoft's largest shareholder – congratulated the company on the purchase, we can't really see the Clippers commander dropping $2.5bn on a company that hasn't achieved much beyond publishing kid-craze videogame Minecraft.

Privately-held Mojang pulled in around $128m in profit in 2013, according to the Wall Street Journal. If Microsoft somehow manages to triple that, it should make back its investment in, oh, six and a half years.

Honestly, we really don't know where Microsoft is going with this one, but if Nadella does then kudos to him.

1. Layoffs, layoffs, layoffs

So far, nearly everything we've touched on has been the extension of a long-term strategy for Microsoft, rather than something that originated in Satya Nadella's office. But if Nadella hasn't been a great originator of new ideas so far, we'll say one thing for him: when a job needs doing, he gets it done.

Nadella climbed into the CEO's chair at a time when shareholders were restless and drastic measures were needed. He proceeded with full vigor, and anyone who read his stultifying six-page memo to staff last July should have been able to tell that layoffs were in the offing.

When he finally came clean on his plans, Nadella announced a mass purge of some 18,000 staffers. While the bulk of those jobs were reportedly positions made redundant when Microsoft acquired Nokia, others were not. And however you see it, it was still the largest round of layoffs ever in the company's history.

It was hardly the most auspicious start to Nadella's tenure as CEO from Microsoft employees' perspective, but it will probably have to go on record as the single most significant act of his first year in the role for which he can take full credit.

Now comes the hard part. Nadella's sophomore year as CEO will see him preside over major refreshes of Microsoft's core product lines, including Office and Windows. It will be trial by fire in the eyes of shareholders and the board and arguably the first real tests of Nadella's leadership, following a year that let him off comparatively easy. ®